The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1887-12-03
PIGS For ThE FARM.
Diversified Feeding the secret OF success la
Pork Production.


surdity. yet it is a truth that there are
fashions in pork. Years ago the public
wanted clear mess, and pieces eight
inches thick of clear fat with n mere
shadow of lean adjoining tho bones
was considered the most desirable
thing i'm pork Now this extreme fat is
unpopular and thin meat with alter
nate strcaks of lean and fat is fashiona-
BILE. As pork is made from pigs,
necessarily the fashion has changed in
regard TO pigs. and the heavy, gross,
fat-making breeds are in diSfavor.
This fashion, curiously enough, came
to us from England, where hitherto the
public taste has demanded extremely
fat meat. mutton chops with "threc
fingers of fat. sirloins with six or eight
inches of fat on the under side, and
bacon with the mcreSt strcakS of lean
in six inches of fat To furnish this fat
meat enormous sheep reaching ma
ture weight cf 800 To nearly 400 pounds;
two-year-old beef. "baby beef, rs il
was called, weighing l,S0O to 2,0Op
pounds, and having exceedingly soft.
llabby flesh. and fat strongly tasting of
the oil cakes of which it was made. aud
the great Yorkshire and Cheshrc
swine. which could be could be fed up
to 200 or 500 pounds at three years old.
And in a seryile habit Of initiating
English ways and fashions, American
breeders tried 10 make us feed upon
e. ,,fl.I "a, NJ AYI
the Jersey red. the Poland China and
the biz Yorkshire swine are not pOpu-
lar, and the Berkshire and other
smaller kinds whose meat is half lean
mixed in alternate layers with the
fat, and which are not 50 highly fed
and are given more time to mature
have taken the place in public estima-
ton, formerly held 10y the larger breeds.
OF course. those whose business is 10
supply the public with meat must cater
10 the public tastes and conform Ia
their wishes. Hence, breeders and
feeders need 10 study the characters Of
the best breeds that are most suitable
for their purpose, and not only this,
but especially the best methods of feed
ing for meat, for rs corn is the mater
ial Of which fat alone is made, some
other food must be used TO make lean
meat.
The Berkshire is the best bacon hog
i'm existence. 1t has been largely used
in refining the grossness Of the Poland
China, and il. Jet black coat is now
worn by this useful breed in place Of
the former spotted one. The blue
black or slaty Ncapolitan has been used
To refine the Berkshire, but we believe
this shade in the latter indicates weak
ness of constitution, although il gives
the thin lean meat, and we prefer tho
glossy black rather coarse hair than the
slaty blue thin spare coat of the Ncap-
oltan.
The black breeds ere certainly tho
most desirable pigs, because they with
stand the scorchug sun Of our hot
summers, aud they alone escape sun
scald in the South. OF the whito
breeds the large Yorkshire. when mod
eratcly fed and grazcd in the summers,
the Chcshircs and the Chester Whites
are excellent for making good meat
The small breeds are, we think, too
much given 90 fat, and are not 80 prof
liable as the larger kinds. The small
Yorkshircs have been fed for fat
40 long during the period Of
their so-callcd improvement that
they are nothing if not a
ball Of fat in which the short, up
turned snout is so buried as TO be
nearly invisible. These -hort-ncckcd
pigs. without a iowl worthy of speak
ing Of. are clearly not profitable under
the present fashion. and need 30 be
improved in precisely the reverse Of
the manner prevailing hitherto with
their breeders.
But the feeding. after all, makes the
pig, and our prevailing mode Of feed
ing must be changed from corn TO
grass largely and other grains than
that too highly carbouaccous food
Bran, oatmeal, maugel.. and even
clover hay, all nitrogcnous aud flesh
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